Printers are commonly employed in association with personal computers to enable printing of the work product created on the computer. For example, many desktop computers are used in conjunction with a desktop printer for printing data therefrom. Referring to FIG. 1, one example of a conventional desktop printer is illustrated.
In FIG. 1, the desktop printer 10 includes a paper supply tray 12 adjacent a printing assembly 14. During printing, supply paper 16 disposed within the supply paper tray 12 is drawn into the printing assembly 14. The paper 16 is guided by a plurality of rollers 18 and printed on by printing element 20. The paper is then output as printed paper 22 onto a printed paper support surface 24.
While the desktop printer 10 is extremely effective for its intended purpose, such desktop printers 10 are too bulky to be easily transported. Further, while the printed paper support surface 24 provides an adequate place for the printed paper 22 to rest, the surface 24 does not provide a mechanism for retaining the printed paper 22 against shifting due to jostling and the like commonly encountered during travel.
In order to overcome the non-transportability of desktop printers, a few portable printers have been developed. Referring to FIG. 2, one example of a conventional portable printer is illustrated. Portable printer 30 includes a printing assembly 32 with a supply paper port 34 for accepting supply paper 36 and a printed paper port 38 for ejecting printed paper 40. A plurality of guide rollers 42 direct the supply paper 36 past a print element 44 and then out the printed paper port 38.
While the portable printer 30 solves many of the problems associated with desktop printers, it still has many drawbacks. For example, no paper supply tray is provided for retaining supply paper 36. Therefore, supply paper 36 must be individually manually fed into the printing assembly 32. Moreover, no printed paper receptacle is provided for catching and retaining printed paper 40. Accordingly, printed paper 40 may be haphazardly ejected onto the user, a floor, or other surroundings.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a portable printer for use during travel situations, such as on aircraft flights, which retains supply paper and printed paper in a paper retention mechanism. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a window in the paper retention mechanism to enable quick inspection of the printed paper during printing for quality insurance.